Seed potato cutting machine



June 11, 1946. L w ms 2,401,931

SEED POTATO CUTTING MACHINE Fil ed Oct. 1, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 1946- Y L. A. HAWKINS SEED POTATO CUTTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 1, 1943 2 Sheefs-Sheei 2.

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Patented June 11, 1946 UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE SEED POTATO CUTTING MACHINE Lester A. Hawkins, Creve Coeur, 111.

Application October 1, 1943, Serial No. 504,599

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a power operated seed potato cutting machine, and has for the primary object the provision of a machine of the above stated character which will cut a maximum number of seed potatoes into proper or desired number of parts for planting within a minimum length of time and requires only the effort of a single person in the feeding of the potatoes into the machine and the sacking of the cut potatoes as they leave said machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the class characterized which only requires the services of a single operator standing substantially adjacent one end of the machine to feed the potatoes and sack the cut potatoes.

With these and other objects in view as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, illustrating the seed potato cutting machin constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view illustrating the device.

Figure 3 is an end elevation illustrating the device.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view illustrating the cutting mechanism.

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 5--5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 63 of Figure 4.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 5 indicates an elongated supporting body frame including upper and lower longitudinally extending members 6, 'l, vertically arranged supporting legs 8 connected thereto and transversely extending members 9.

A potato supply hopper I is arranged at one end of the supporting structure and includes a slidable control gate I I operated by a pivotally mounted hand lever l2 whereby potatoes from the hopper may be dropped one at a time upon an endless conveyor l3 supported in an inclined position on the supporting structure and. leads to an inclined transversely arranged chute Hi. The endless conveyor 3 includes flights l5 and spring fingers to engage the potatoes and cause them to travel upwardly on the inclined run of the endless conveyor and drop said potatoes singly into the chute for movement by gravitation into a potato receiver containing a cutting mechanism |6 located adjacent the opposite end of the supporting body frame from the hopper Ill.

The potato receiver forms a vertically arranged chamber I! to which the inclined chute l4 connects. A knife construction I8 is arranged in the lower end of the chamber and includes a plurality of crossed blades IQ for the purpose of severing the potato into a selected number of parts. a Arranged in the chamber l1 above the knife construction I8 is a plurality of centering strips 20 spring influenced, :as shown at 2|, for the purpose of centering a potatowith respect to the knife blades as it gravitates from the chute M. The movement of the potato into the chamber I! from the chute I4 i controlled by a slidable gate 22 spring actuated in one direction by a spring 23.

Slidably mounted in the chamber l1 above the centering strips 20 and chute I4 is a plunger 24 including a stem 25 connected to across head 26 slidably mounted on vertical guides 21. The walls of the plunger 24 are grooved, as shown at 28, to permit the plunger to slide past the centering strips 20 to force the potato in engagement with the knife blades I9.

A pitman 29 is pivotally connected to the cross head 26 and pivotally and eccentrically connected to a disc 3|] secured on a power shaft 3| journaled on the supporting structure 5 by bearings 32. A grooved pulley 33 is secured to the shaft 3| to receive an endless power belt from a power source (not shown).

A flexible element 34 is connected to the cross head 26 and to the gate 22 for imparting thereto an upward movement during the extreme upward movement of the cross head for the purpose of opening the gate to allow a potato to gravitate from the chute |4 into the chamber H,

The endless conveyor I3 is driven from the power shaft 3| through the employment of an endless sprocket chain and sprocket gears indicated generally by the character 35.

An upwardly inclined endless conveyor 36 has its lowermost end disposed under the knife construction I8 to receive the cut parts of potatoes and convey them upwardly to a discharge nozzle 36' mounted on the supporting structure adjacent the feed hopper H1. The endless conveyor 35 is suitably supported on the supporting structure 5 and is driven from the shaft 3| through the use of an endless sprocket chain and sprocket endless conveyor l3 whence they are carried to.

the inclined chute M for gravitation into thecut ting mechanism I6. As the plunger 24 nears its uppermost position, the gate 22 is elevated allowing a potato to gravitate into the chamber 'l'| and become centered over the knife blades l-9 -so th'at on the downward movement of the plunger 24 the potato will be forced past the knife blades andthereby become severed into a number or arisl y o ntin e u otat e av tate onto the conveyor 36 and areca-rried thereby to the discharge nozzle 3fififor sacking.

Thus itvvill beseen that a single person can control the feeding of potatoes into the device as well as to'controlthe cut-potatoes for sacking and later fOrpIantin'gjthereby permitting a. large number of potatoes to be cut to ai'selected number of parts within a comparativelyshort period time. 1

It is to be understood that any numberof knife blades may be included in the cutting arrangemerit 18 so thatthe number of .partsthat a potato will be cut intocan be varied in accordance Withthedesi-re' of the operator.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it"will'be understood that, minor changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts maybe made without departing from the Spirit ands'cope of the invention as claimed.

'Having thus described the invention, What I claimis;

A seed potatocutt ing machine, comprising a supporting body frame, a hopper locatedon the upper part of said frame closely adjacent one end thereof, manually operable means at the same end of the frame for actuation by an operator stationed thereadjacent so as to control delivery of potatoes in succession and one at a time from the hopper, a potato receiver having a cutting chamber located on the supporting frame adjacent the opposite end thereof, a chute connected cornmunicably. to an intermediate part of saidgpotatolreceiver and the. upper: part of the cutting chamber thereof, means for conveying potatoes as delivered from the hopper to said chute, cutting knives arranged in the lower portion of said cutting chamber and above a discharge outlet of the chamber, means for centeringpotatoesone at a time in said cutting chamher as received from the chute and above the knivesga reciprocatory plunger working in said cutting chamber, said plunger in its reciprocation traversing past the 11 mm inlet of the chamber and at the." end, of its I stroke infonedirection pressing the centered potato thereunder against the underlyingknives, and thereby cutting the potato, into sectienaa gate ope ,atedintermittently by the plunger for controlling movement ofv the potatoes intermittently from the'chute to the chamber while the plunger is in a position past the inlet from said 'chut'eorr its stroke re verse from its potato pressing' and cutting "stroke, a discharge nozzle locatedon'th-e upper partand end of said body frame at the sidefof and'ad jacent to said' hopper-so as 'to be within' 'icon venient reach of the operator 's'tationed as f rst herein stated, means; for "conveying 'thelcut pieces of potato as discharged from said cutting chamber to said discharge nozzle, and synchrd z'e'cl mechanical operating means' for actuating aid plunger in'the cutting chamber togetherwithits correlated gate actuatedth'reby and al so for actuat'in'g the conveying m-eans betweensaid hopper and said potato'receiver'and the conveying means between thedischarge outletofthe cutting mam ber andsaid discharge nozzle.

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